Man Candy Mondays: Liam Hemsworth

Jamie Beckman is the lead blogger for the Sexcerpts blog on SheKnows.com. She has written about relationships, health and lifestyle trends for Redbook, USA TODAY, Men's Journal, Men's Health, Best Life and First for Women magazines, as w...

This Hunger Games hunk is one tasty piece

We thought we couldn't be any more psyched about The Hunger Games movie, and then we found out that Aussie hottie Liam Hemsworth was cast as heroine Katniss Everdeen's hunting partner and bestie Gale Hawthorne. Thank you, casting directors! We're anxiously counting down the days until March 23 (opening day!), because now we have two reasons to stand in line: seeing a beautiful book come to life onscreen and feasting our eyes on Liam.

We thought we couldn't be any more psyched about the Hunger Games movie, and then we found out that Aussie hottie Liam Hemsworth was cast as heroine Katniss Everdeen's hunting partner and bestie Gale Hawthorne. Thank you, casting directors! We're anxiously counting down the days until March 23 (opening day!), because now we have two reasons to stand in line: seeing a beautiful book come to life onscreen and feasting our eyes on Liam.

This Hunger Games hunk is one tasty piece

Why we love him

He's a tall drink of water with an Australian accent to boot — and the fact that he's in The Hunger Games wins him even more heartthrob points!

Liam Hemsworth

Born: Jan. 13, 1990

Hometown: Melbourne, Australia

Height: 6' 3"

He's a sexy Aussie

Liam could say anything to us — read us the phone book, even — and we'd be entranced. Between his smooth-as-honey accent, his sculpted features and his adorably scruffy facial hair, what more do we really need to know?

We first got into Liam when he played now-girlfriend Miley Cyrus's love interest in the movie adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel The Last Song, but before we set eyes on him here in the U.S., he was in several Australian TV shows, including the fantasy series The Elephant Princess and the drama Neighbours. Making the transition from Down Under to the U.S., however, was always on his radar.

"I think when I started acting, the whole time I was working towards one day coming to America," he told Cinematical. "Hollywood, in particular, is seen to be the center of this industry, and I was just waiting for the right time to come. I'd gotten flown over for Thor, so that was kind of the right time for me. And it definitely feels like I'm doing the right thing, and in the right spot."

Liam's big brother Chris ended up getting the part of Thor, but Liam is certainly holding his own and then some.

Good looks run in his family

One thing's for sure: The Hemsworth brothers are making their mark in Hollywood. As we mentioned, Liam's older brother Chris has taken up Thor's hammer on the big screen, and he's slated to play the Huntsman in this summer's Snow White and the Huntsman. Fun fact: He was featured as one of our pieces of Man Candy last April! Read the story here: Man Candy Mondays: Chris Hemsworth.

It turns out that sibling rivalry is what prompted Liam to try acting: "I saw my brother doing it," he told Interview magazine, "and I thought I could do it better."

We won't take sides, but we're sure glad Liam's in the industry now!

He takes the role of Gale seriously

Liam says he's very aware that the pressure is on to be true to his character Gale in the film version of The Hunger Games — and since he was a fan of the series before scoring the part, he was determined to get it right from the start.

"I read these books, and I ended up becoming a really big fan myself. I thought they were such extreme ideas and intense ideas. And I read these books, and I could see them as movies...," he told E! "[Gale] was definitely who I related to, more so than Peeta... It was really, really fun to have read these books and then be on set and seeing all these characters come to life."

And with Liam taking the character's reins, we really can't wait to see Gale on the silver screen!

Liam Hemsworth's relationship status

His lady love is no secret! He's been dating entertainer Miley Cyrus on and off since 2009, thanks to a little bit of serendipity: "We met on The Last Song and it’s still going,” he told radio's The Bert Show this past week. "I think going into it, it wasn’t the goal for that to happen, but we just got closer and closer through the shoot and it just kind of happened.” That's one cute power couple!